Moroney's Bar

On Sunday Ballyea and Cratloe will contest the Clare Senior Hurling Championship Final at Cusack Park with thrown in @ 3.30pm. Having met earlier in the championship where Ballyea prevailed in extra time this promises to be another cracking contest. For those heading to The Park early they can taken in the Minor A hurling final where Clarecastle take on Clonlara. This will be The Magpies fourth final in six years and like the senior game both teams met earlier in the league format with Clonlara coming out on top. A big talking point is the €20 entrance fee and with the match programme costing another €5 it will certainly put off those with no affiliations from attending the finals especially as the game has deferred viewing on TG4.

All in Moroney's would like to take this opportunity to wish the Ballyea Senior hurlers and all our great friends in the… Read more

This evening at Frank Healy Park Clare oldest soccer club Hermitage FC which is now in it's 58th year in existence will contest the Second Division League Cup Final against Bridge United B. The Tage as they are better know throughout the county and beyond were founded in 1960 by Johnny Quinn, Haulie Molloy, Paddy Woods, Tex Corry and John Hayes.Down through the years Hermitage was a great family club with numerous brothers playing alongside each other such as the Kennys, Woods, Ryans, Murphys, Gilligans, Considines, O Loughlins,O Briens, Dilgers, McCarthys, Corrys, McAllisters, Skerritts, Moloneys, Clohessys, Moroneys, Dinans and many more that are gone to their eternal rest. In 1967 a youths team was formed and when Clare won the Inter County Cup in 1971 it was backboned by Hermitage players Michael and Stephen Kenny, Martin Woods, Tony Considine, Gerry Gilligan and goalkeeper Billy Greer.

Over the years the club… Read more

You couldn’t make it up and boy are they right ! Six extraordinary weeks after starting out in The Boylesport Irish Greyhound Derby as a no hoper in everyone’s mind, the name of Newhall Missile is now known throughout the doggie world and beyond. The dog that Colin Barry named to much laughter lived up to his name and bombed out of Trap 4 to win the Consolation Greyhound Derby at a jam packed Shelbourne Park last Saturday night. Needless to say the odds of 4/1 were taken up by many of the Clare contingent in the crowd. The reception that Colin received when going out to the presentation area with co-owner Noel Coote was absolutely phenomenal. The whole stand stood to applaud and the icing on the cake was for Colin to be in Shelbourne Park for the second consecutive week. Every one of the six rounds Missile has… Read more

While there was some disappointment last weekend when Newhall Missile failed by the narrowest of margins to qualify for the Derby Final, there was certainly much to be grateful for as Colin got see his beloved Missile run in Shelbourne Park. And indeed he will be back this weekend to see Missile take his place in the Consolation Final. Considering the amount of time Colin has spent in hospital this year, one was afraid that he wouldn’t be well enough to travel but nothing was going to stop Colin seeing The Missile run in the Derby. Thanks to Enable Ireland Colin made the trip to Dublin along with his parents Gerry and Noelette. They were joined by his sister Emily, brother Ronan along with a bus load of supporters from Ballyea. Small margins in sport define a win from a defeat but to lose out by less than a length… Read more

It's been a surreal week for the connections of Newhall Missile with TV cameras and newspapers descending on the Browne household in Ballyea to get an insight into this unique greyhound who's lit a light in so many peoples lives and particularly his co owner Colin Barry. While all this has been going on around him The Missile isn't taking a blind bit of notice and he hasn't been fazed in the slightest except perhaps for getting a few extra pats on the head this week. No surprise there I suppose as he's walked every evening by John's son Jack who is probably the coolest guy on the Clare senior hurling team and doesn't do excitement. Sometimes I wonder has he any nerves at all and even this week when he was overlooked for an All Star hurling nomination ( wrongly in many peoples eyes ), Jack just laughed it… Read more

Whether it's hurling, football or greyhound racing one aspires to reach the pinnacle of the sport but for the majority of us that's just a pipe dream. However it's the expectations each year that drives us on, that we'll get a run in the Championship or win a few races on the track. One must start at the beginning to get the full picture of this extraordinary story of a greyhound called Newhall Missile who has given a new lease of life to young Colin Barry and everyone connected with the dog. You see Colin who has Spina Bifida celebrated his 21st birthday at Limerick Greyhound Stadium, the bug bit and he wanted a greyhound of his own. When Colin asked his dad Gerry could they buy a greyhound he nearly had a coronary but this is where he enlisted the help of his great friend Noel Coote who is… Read more

If you were passing down the Lower Market in Ennis last month you could not but wonder what the scaffolding was doing in front of Moroney's Bar. Many of the locals characters had their own spin on things but the fact was that the two chimney stacks which are over 200 years old along with their six pots needed to be restored to their former glory. Indeed there was a privet hedge growing out of one of them which when inspected was found to have roots going down 8-10 feet through the bricks. Now while this might look fetching from the ground it was causing extensive damage and in time would have burst out the chimney. The chimney to the left facing up to Summerhill was not quite as bad but was leaking water and one of the pots had to be replaced. One must remember that each of these… Read more

Our eighth game of the All Ireland Hurling Championship finished in devastation for the Clare hurlers and their management at Thurles yesterday afternoon but what a summer these unbelievable guys have given each and every Clare hurling supporter both at home and abroad. These amateur players have given up the best years of their life to don the saffron and blue and while us supporters are down today we are eternally grateful to these men for lighting up our lives and giving us some marvelous days out this summer and over the last few years.

We salute each and every member of the panel, the team management and all the background staff for your tremendous dedication and efforts on behalf of the Clare hurlers and just to say us supporters are eternally grateful and proud of your efforts. You lifted the county over the summer and the passion and never say… Read more

Saturday afternoon next is a momentous day for Ennislusc Club Secretary Mike Jones when he walks down the aisle with the love of his life Caroline Flannery at the picturesque setting of St Joseph's Church in Miltown Malbay at 1.30pm. Since the foundation of Ennislusc Mike and his Dad Liam have been stalwarts of the club and have been on numerous club trips to Elland Road. Mike in his capacity as secretary set up a What's App group for Ennislusc members and this has been a tremendous success in keeping everyone updated. While Leeds United is close to Mick's heart so is the red and black colours of Whitegate which has been donned by the famous Naoise Jordan, All Star wing back Brendan Bugler and indeed Mick himself has togged with An Geata Ban.

The wedding reception is being held in The Falls Hotel, Ennistymon and for those who can't made… Read more

After an unbelievable weekend of hurling where the Clare hurlers came back from a nine point deficit after 17 minutes to draw with Galway after extra time in a pulsating All Ireland Hurling Semi Final in Croke Park it's off to Thurles next Sunday for a replay at 2pm. Unfortunately for many loyal Clare fans they won't get the chance to shout on their favourites at the home of hurling due to the ticket debacle. The GAA hierarchy decided that no tickets would be circulated to clubs but patrons would have to buy them on line or at Centra supermarkets and to compound matters didn't say when they would go on sale. Thus it was through word of mouth,phone calls etc that people found they were on sale yesterday morning. This of course didn't take account of people at work or old people who haven't access to computers or had… Read more

Last Wednesday evening during the weekly trad session a recording took place of well know singer Peter Casey singing some of his own witty compositions which will be posted on U Tube in the coming weeks. Peter who is Games Development Administrator with Clare GAA is a true entertainer and his song on the dangers of EPO which he sung in JP O Connors Bar in Charleville on his way home from Pairc Ui Chaoimh last year went viral on U Tube. As always Anne Marie McCormack, Marcus Moloney and Kieran Kissane belted out the tunes and a great night was had by all. All at Moroney's wish Peter continued success and look forward to hearing more of his hilarious songs.

All roads leads to Powerstown Park, Clonmel this weekend where the Derby and Oaks will be run for the 93rd year. Not since 1950 when Cahercalla Rebellion won the Oaks for Paddy Quinn from Market Street has Ennis had a winner at the meeting but this year there will be four runners with Ennis connections going to slips in the Oaks and Derby events. Allofthelights will represent the Four Thirds Syndicate in the Oaks which is made up of Sean Heeney, his sons Conor and Niall along with Tony(Camo) Quinn who is a nephew of the late Paddy. Ironically Cahercalla Rebellion was reared by his father Michael at their home in Cahercalla as was Allofthelights by Tony. Many will know Tony from walking the bypass with his greyhounds and lately there has been a pep in his step as the big day approaches.

Another Ennis runner which takes his place this… Read more

Wednesday 15th January 1958 will be forever etched in the history of our great town as it signaled the biggest tragedy in our history when eight people lost their lives when the first floor of Carmody's Hotel on Abbey Street collapsed during an auction. The auction was part of a three day auction to sell off the contents of the hotel which had closed and was being carried out by Limerick Auctioneer Louis De Courcy. The room was crowded to such an extent that Mr De Courcy had asked for the doors to be closed which in hindsight probably saved many more lives. The floor collapsed in the middle some time in the afternoon as the auctioneer was auctioning linen which was piled on tables in the center of the room.

In journalist Gerry Quinn's excellent radio documentary As If Night Fell which was broadcast on Clare FM last night… Read more

Many people take photos at different events which never see the light of day again and I was in danger of doing the same until I had a conversation with greyhound enthusiast Frank White of The Halfway Bar. He asked what had happened to all the photos I'd taken over the years and hence the idea to launch a Greyhound Folk album was born. There are ninety photos in the album which is in the photo gallery on moroneysbar.com under the heading Greyhound Folk so take a peek and enjoy.

This last year was a fantastic year for Moroneys's Bar which saw us win The Best Local Pub for Clare, Cork and Limerick in the inaugural Irish Pub Awards which were presented in Dublin in November. This was a tremendous award for a pub that's been in The Market area of Ennis since 1840 and has seen many changes over the years. However it has retained that feeling of the local pub where everyone is welcome,the banter is good and of course the drink is top class. However without our tremendously loyal customers this would not be possible and were are truly in debt for your continued support. Ennis hosted the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in August for the second consecutive year which saw the biggest ever crowds attend a fleadh making it once again an outstanding success. To cap all that Ennis was named Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre… Read more

It was a memorable day at the Killimer/Kilrush Coursing meeting for Sean Heaney, his sons Niall and Conor along with his great friend Tony( Camo) Quinn when their greyhound ALLTHELIGHTS qualified to run in the Oaks in Clonmel next February. Despite being the outsider in the final Allthelights ran a cracker to get the nod and herald great celebrations for The Four Thirds Syndicate. Sean and Tony are involved in greyhounds all their lives and have endured their fair share of slagging from Moroney's regulars but this week they will be basking in the glory and relieving the bookies of a few bob having backed Allthelights in the long odds betting.

Allthelights was reared in Cahercalla by Tony Quinn and indeed it was here that the great Cahercalla Rebellion who won the Oaks in 1950 for his uncle Paddy Quinn (Market St) was reared by his late father Michael. All their… Read more

On Saturday 4th November at the 20th Annual Retail Excellence Awards held in Killarney it turned out to be a great night for The Banner county as Ennis scooped the title of Ireland's Friendliest Place and in the process beaten off the likes of Trim (Meath), Swords, Waterford and Limerick City to the coveted title. It was a double for Ennis on the night as Willlow Boutique on O Connell Street was named as one of the top five shops in Ireland for 2018 which is a tremendous achievement for owned Jean McCabe and her staff.

It is hoped that this award would attract more visitors to our beautiful town and of course encourage other shopping outlets to set up businesses. We congratulate Ennis Chamber of Commerce for all their work over the years leading to this tremendous award and hopefully the town can build on this going forward.

Following on from a hugely successful Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann it's now time for the Ennis Trad Festival and once again Moroney's will be playing host to live gigs. Kicking off with our very popular Wednesday night session featuring Ann Marie McCormack, Marcus Moloney and Kieran Kissane this promises to be a great evening as we kick off the festival early. Others to feature over the festival will be Martin Dermody on Friday night, Ruadhairi O Kane on Saturday and PJ King and friends with a 7pm session on Sunday evening. As always there is a huge programme of events from CD launches, master classes in fiddle, accordion, concertina, flute, sean nos dancing and singing, Teen Trad disco, Trad quiz and of course the pub session trail.

This is a great opportunity to hear some excellent musicians and enjoy a feast of top class music. Best wishes and continued success to… Read more

Last night the council paid tribute to Stockton's Wing with a civic reception to honour them for their contribution to music scene over the last forty years. From playing their first gigs in Brogan's Bar back in 1977 the band has toured the world with their distinctive sound and at this years All Ireland Fleadh they played to a packed house in The West County which many described as the highlight of the week long event. When the band formed there were four All Ireland winners in the line up with Kieran Hanrahan, Paul Roche, Tommy Hayes, Maurice Lennon with the excellent Tony Cullinan making up the band. Mike Hanrahan, brother of Kieran joined in 1979 and he penned many of their hits including Beautiful Affair, Take A Chance and Walk Away.

Other members who played with The Wing over the years include Steve Cooney, Fran Breen, Tony Molloy, John… Read more

Ennis has been named Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre in the 59th annual National Tidy Towns Competition having previously won the award in 2006, 2008 ,2009, 2012 ,2013 and 2016. This is a tremendous achievement and indeed Ennis was only one point off the overall winner Birdhill, Co. Tipperary ( Tidiest Village- 332 marks ). Ennis increased it's marks from 2016 and now the motivation will be to win the ultimate prize in 2018.

Each entrant is assessed under eight criteria with a total of 450 marks available as follows :

Community Involvement & Planning (60 marks)

Built Environment & Streetscape (50 marks)

Landscaping & Open Spaces (50 marks)

Wildlife, Habitats & Natural Amenities (50 marks)

Tidiness & Litter Control (90 marks)

Sustainable Waste & Resource Management (50 marks)

Residential Streets & Housing Areas (50 marks)

Approach Roads, Streets & Lanes (50 marks).

While a point may not seem a lot to make up it will involve keeping up… Read more